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Ghostwriter scott sery talks about making successful plans

Successful Plans Aren’t by Accident

Have you ever mapped out a project, poured a lot of time (maybe even money) into it, only to have it bomb?  It didn’t hit the way you expected, it didn’t take off how you’d hoped.  I know I have.  Several years ago, I started a course called From No to Grow – the idea was that I would guide people from having No idea how to make money outside of their job, to Growing that idea.  It was relevant, it was affordable, and I put a lot of time (and money) into it.

I didn’t make a single sale.

Those successful plans were, possibly, because of the wrong motivation.  Or, perhaps it just wasn’t where God wanted me to spend my time.

Creating Successful Plans Biblically

Growing up, it was often pounded into us that we need to seek out God’s will.  Find God’s will.  But there were never any clear instructions on how to do that.  Read your Bible, pray often, seek counsel… among other vague advice was given.  It wasn’t until I was an adult that I learned God’s will isn’t this mystical finely tuned thing I’m supposed to strive for.  It wasn’t a single pinpoint of an idea to be grasped.  Instead, am I living the life according to how the Bible says I should?  If yes, then I’ve found, and I’m following, God’s will.

That can spill over into your job and your business.  When you want to create successful plans, you have to be following God’s will.  His promise to us in Proverbs 16 is that even when we don’t know all the answers, he will guide the way.  He says, “We can make our own plans, but the Lord gives the right answer.  People may be pure in their own eyes, but the Lord examines their motives.  Commit your actions to the Lord, and your plans will succeed.” Proverbs 16:1-3 (NLT)

Successful plans need God to exist, Scott Sery is a Copywriter

Side note, I don’t often read the New Living Translation, but this one used “succeed” instead of “be established,” and I found that to be a clearer picture of what’s going on.

It’s a simple promise too.  It starts out that we can make our own plans, but God is going to give us the answers on how to ensure they’re going to last.

The next verse shows us that we all believe we’re doing the right thing; even criminals can justify their behavior and claim purity.  Really, though, the Lord examines the motives to find out if we’re really pure in our motives (if you’re living life the way He expects, then you’re in His will and you should be able to examine your motives to make sure they line up with His).

In verse three it wraps it all up.  We make our own plans, God helps us out, we have pure motives, and we commit our actions to God.  When we do that, we have successful plans.

Three Prayers to Start Each Day

Quite a while ago, I made a little list that I often forget to go through as I start my day.  It has a handful of little prayers to get me into the right mindset, and ensure that I’m doing what God expects.

1 – Give the business back to God.  God has allowed me to work in this business, and I want to acknowledge that this is His – I’m working for him.

2 – Ask for wisdom in making decisions.  Our lives are riddled with decisions, do you ask for wisdom when you are faced with them?

3 – Offer every action as a sacrifice to God.  Every keystroke, every mouse click, they’re all done to work on God’s business, so they should all be glorifying to him.

I also scribbled in another one.  It’s one that I struggle with because of how money issues were pounded into my head as a child (it’s evil, never desire money because that’s greed, if you want money, you’re bad!).  The last one on my list is “Ask for wealth.”  Logically I know God wants us to prosper, but my own internal struggles are finding that line between prosperity and greed – a topic for another time.

Finding Peace When Plans Fail

Going back to the utter failure of No to Grow.  I made my own plans, my motives were pure, and I committed those actions to God… why didn’t I have successful plans?

Over time I found peace with the decision to close down the online course.  I ran it for over a year, poured so much time and effort into it, and ultimately decided it wasn’t worth it.  And all I can come up with was that God wasn’t providing the answers because it wasn’t the right place for me to be spending time.

Put in Your Own Effort

Let’s wrap this up with one final nugget.

If you want successful plans, you can’t just make them and sit back hoping for the best.  If it’s what God wants from you, then it’s going to work out – he promises us that in Proverbs 16.  But it doesn’t say that you can just sit around and not work hard.

“Work brings profit, but mere talk leads to poverty!” Proverbs 14:23 (NLT).

Create the plans with talk, but then work toward that profit.

What plans are you creating?  Do they involve writing a book, or blogging on your business website?  Let’s chat to see how I can help you see successful plans.

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